USS ''Meadowlark'' (AMS/MSC-196) was a acquired by the
United States Navy for clearing coastal minefields.
Construction
''Meadowlark'' was laid down on 18 May 1953, as AMS-196, by
Broward Marine, Inc.,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida; launched on 28 August 1954, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas E. Sheridan; reclassified MSC-196 on 7 February 1955; and commissioned on 10 May 1955.
East Coast operations
''Meadowlark'' conducted
shakedown
Shakedown may refer to:
* Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation
* Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational
* Extortion, ...
training out of
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
. This remained her home port into 1969, except for a period commencing February 1956, when assigned to the
Naval Mine Warfare School,
Yorktown, Virginia. She conducted operations from
Nova Scotia to the
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
, and in January 1967, visited
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
,
Netherlands West Indies. With
Mine Squadron 42 she twice participated in joint exercises with the
Royal Canadian Navy the first time off Nova Scotia in July 1958, and again in June 1963, along the
Florida coast.
Military awards and honors
An eager competitor in fleet exercises and battle problems, ''Meadowlark'' was recognized for her operational readiness. From 1962, she won five consecutive
Battle Efficiency "E" Awards and accumulated an equal number of awards for excellence in mine counter measures.
Decommissioning
''Meadowlark'' was transferred to
Indonesia in 1971, and renamed ''Pulau Alau'' (M-717); struck from the
Naval Vessel Register on 1 May 1976; and, sold, 1 September 1976. Fate: unknown.
Notes
;Citations
Bibliography
Online resources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meadowlark
Adjutant-class minesweepers
Bluebird-class minesweepers
Ships built in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
1954 ships
Cold War minesweepers of the United States
Pulau Alau
Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Indonesian Navy